Visits
by EpicFailMeiku
Summary: Second part of Centuries. "Naruto smiled fondly; such scenes were becoming more and more common. Kyuubi and him were beginning to act like senile old men."


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Visits:

Gaara broke out into a smile when he saw Naruto. It was always so strange to see Gaara's face—still exactly the same—so open, so filled with emotion.

"You finally show up?" Temari shouted from the background.

Naruto gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry it took so long to respond."

"This ain't the old days, Naruto. You could call or email, you know," Kankuro chided.

The siblings were a bit mixed up—Kankuro had been born first this time around—but they stayed basically the same. Temari was still an arrogant and independent beautiful young lady. Kankuro was still rather meek in the face of his siblings, though no longer fearful of Gaara. And Gaara was still very quiet, though with each rebirth he opened up more and more. Naruto knew it would not be long before they grew into people he did not recognize.

Kyuubi snorted, "Modern day crap… Letters ought to be delivered by hawks still. Messages would be safer that way."

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "Cynical as always."

"You're an idiot, Puppet-Boy."

Naruto smiled fondly; such scenes were becoming more and more common. Kyuubi and him were beginning to act like senile old men.

After a quick catching up, Temari and Kankuro retired for the night and Kyuubi wandered off to hunt. Gaara and Naruto sat alone in the Kazekage's very modern living room. The art always threw Naruto off—having seen Gaara's tastes change from nothingness into this abstract modern glass "art" over the centuries was somewhere between depressing and halirious.

"You were waiting for Sasuke again?"

"And Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi," Naruto did not hesitate to answer. There was no point in not answering. Gaara could not remember them very well anyway. Flashes, sometimes voices, rarely faces—they were just names Gaara knew, names that were connected to Naruto who was someone very important from a past life.

"You don't look for me and I always come back. Maybe you need to stay away from Konoha for a while."

Naruto shook his head, "I'd prefer to be near… I want to know when they're born. I want to know the second they come back…"

Gaara was quiet. Naruto knew Gaara would never understand. How could he? He could not remember who the four were, much less why Naruto was so deeply connected to them.

"I remember every time I see your face. Temari and Kankuro don't, at least not as much as me… I don't remember everything. I don't remember why you're so important to me… But you are. That's what matters." Gaara paused, hesitant to proceed. Naruto could smell a soft hint of fear; another reminder of how long it had been since the first time he had gone to Gaara with his demonic body. "But what if they don't remember like I do?"

Naruto shook his head, "They'll remember."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do," Naruto nodded, smiling to himself. It was that pure hard-headed attitude that had won him so many friends in the first place… Even if they did not remember, he would make them. Whatever it took, he would make them.

Gaara gave him a concerned look; obviously he did not remember a lot. Naruto smiled and stood up.

"This is not my territory. I need to get home."

"Naruto…"

"It was good to see you again, Gaara. Maybe the next time I see you, you'll understand."

Gaara stared at the floor, "You won't be back in this lifetime, huh?"

"I might be. It depends on the way the world turns, you know. Time doesn't mean the same to me any more though. The world isn't the same for me. Three centuries is a long time, Gaara."

Gaara nodded, eyes still on the floor.

Naruto bopped him lightly on the head, "Cheer up. Gaara's not supposed to look so depressed in any lifetime. Not when I'm around."

Gaara smiled a bit, enough for Naruto to not feel guilty when he left. He did not want to be in that falsely green city with its glass and steel buildings that glimmered in the electric light as bright as the sun. He wanted to be in his tree, with the sakura blossoms, watching his Konoha's busy streets under the softer, more natural lights of the paper lanterns.

He wanted to be waiting for when he felt their energies again, smelled their scents, saw their faces…

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_So... Could be a third part now... Keep getting ideas... But, y'know, whatever you guys think. If even one person wants to see a third part (it'll be the last part, I'm making sure of that) I'll write one. Thanks for reading!_


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